Middle Gate

An unadorned, stark interior surrounds the image of a woman in *Effen spiegel van een stille stroom* [Smooth mirror of a silent stream]. It is only when the woman disappears from our field of view that it becomes clear that the space on the right side of the screen is a mirror, reflecting the space behind the camera. The whole figure is only visible via the reflection. The mirror is an ambiguous motif in Dujourie's works. It refers to deception and a simultaneous absence/presence in relation to what our glance takes in. Additionally, the mirror is a means of montage: it permits spaces to be in-frame together. In this way, the piece creates an extra space, below-right next to the hearth. In a small, limited space there suddenly arises a larger space, which nonetheless remains within the compactness of the image. Lili Dujourie shows us a space that unfolds in time, along with a protagonist caught in that space, who is bored, who waits, not quite knowing which way to turn. At the end of *Effen spiegel met een stille stroom*, Lili Dujourie poses in front of the mirror and lights a cigarette. A moment of 'reflexive boredom' as surprising epilogue to a work where most attention turns to the relationship with the space. On this, the artist says the following:*“I think that I have the need for this sort of disturbing element, something quite minimal that doesn't chime with the scenario, and that makes the connection with boredom, with everydayness - and especially with poetry.”*